by Sarah Barnes
From today’s All Things Considered on National Public Radio:
Ailsa Chang/NPR
Civil War Buffs Clash Over Proposed Wal-Mart
by Ailsa Chang
The Battle of the Wilderness has given way to a battle over a Wal-Mart.The discount giant wants to build a super store in Orange County, Va., near where a portion of the key 1864 Civil War battle was fought — on top of a hill that overlooks grassy fields and dense woods.
Wal-Mart says it’s not building on actual battlefield land. Its store would be on the edge, outside the national park.
Preservationists disagree. They say the proposed site might not be where actual fighting occurred, but it’s where a lot of war activity took place, such as where armies ran medical teams and reinforcements up and down.
This is the 3rd in a series on Old Bedford Village. After Action Report Alt Bedforddorf By Bill Donegan Feldwebel Matt Santos and two jagers of 5/.Hochgebirgsbataillon 4, after marching to the outskirts of Alt Bedforddorf, found an abandoned farm house on the eastern edge of the village, and settled in for a rest. Feldwebel Santos and the other ....
This is the second in a series about Old Bedford Village. This one is from our correspondent, Nick Korolev: OLD BEDFORD VILLAGE 1940s WEEKEND This was a unique and wonderful experience for myself and friend Rick “Byrdie” Byrd. We are both Civil War living historians and reenactors who belong to the Federal Generals Corps (first ... ...
(This is the first in a series this week about the WWII event at Old Bedford Village this past Weekend.) Old Bedfore Village had its annual 1940’s weekend over August 8 and 9 and this year was bigger and better than ever. There was a greater diversity of Reenacting units than ever before. In ... ...
Sorry for a lack of posts this week. I just got back from Maine and am getting ready for the Old Bedford Village WWII living history this upcoming weekend. There will be much to write about next week. Speaking of OBV, this is a great event and I can’t recommend it enough. If you are looking ... ...
This morning I came upon a site that reminded me that this year marks the 20th anniversary of one of the best Civil War movies ever made and one that motivated a lot of baby boomers to go out and buy blue or gray wool uniforms and start reenacting. That movie, of course, is “Glory” ... ...
A number of years ago, I remember telling someone that despite the fact that schools rarely seem to teach much history any more, at least the History Channel was still there and people did watch it. Now it seems to me that that is little comfort. I was perusing the channel guide today and found ... ...
This past weekend, the West Virginia Reenactors Association and Rich Mountain Battlefield Foundation held their reenactment of the 1861 Battle of Rich Mountain. For those who have not been to this battlefield, the area is scenic and rugged. The actual fighting occurred at the top of the mountain where the Hart family had a small ... ...
On Independence Day, July 4, 2009, the 28th Infantry Division, Company K put on a living history encampment at the Forest Hills park in the Pittsburgh area. This was mainly a one day event and was part of Forest Hills Community Day at the park. While our little encampment was tucked away back from the ... ...
The weekend of July 11-12 will once again see the biannual reenactment of the Battle of Rich Mountain near Beverly, WV. In June, 1861, Major General George B. McClellan took command of Union troops in Western Virginia and on the 27th of that month, set out for Randolph County to engage the Confederate forces there. ... ...
Despite the obligatory rain on Friday, the weather was quite nice for the rest of the weekend for this event. There were several more reenactors than last year and for many of those who had been there before, the displays were bigger and better than ever. Especially impressive was the camp of the U.S. Navy ... ...
I had a wonderful time at “The Alpen Hof German Restaurant” on Saturday night June 6, 2009. The Alpen Hof is located on Morgantown Road in Reading, Pa. It is only three miles from the Mid Atlantic Air Museum. The occasion for my being there was that our German reenacting unit “The Kaiserlautern Volks Sturm” was ... ...
Just a reminder that the 4th annual Rowlesburg, WV WWII Living History event will take place on this coming weekend, June 26 and 27. This is a fun event and extremely Reenactor-friendly. If you are not signed up as a participant, then make plans to come as a spectator. It’s a small, laid-back, but quality ... ...
Here is a report from our correspondent, Nick Korolev: This past weekend June 5-7 saw the annual Gathering of Civil War Eagles Seminar at the Old Courthouse Civil War Museum in Winchester, VA. This Civil War living history event is unlike any other. The public gets to act as the press and speak ... ...
It rained , it got hot, it was big and it was spectacular – it was Reading. The 193rd Rifle Division once again made its annual trip to the Reading Airshow on June 5, 6, 7. This may have been the biggest Reading yet, but it started out rather inauspiciously. Unit members who arrived on ... ...
Here is a nifty little tool for living historians, contributed by Nick Korolev: GUIDED SCHIZOPHRENIA FOR WWII LIVING HISTORIANS This little guide has been adapted from one used at Camp Verde AZ for Indian Wars personas for those who wish to join or already are in the world of WWII living historians. To do things right and create a living breathing ...
Several reenactors from the 28th Infantry Division, Co. K, participated in the Memorial Day parades in Coraopolis and Lawrenceville, PA. We met in Cora0polis and drove to Lawrenceville in Dan Evans’ 1942 Dodge weapons carrier. This was actually a very pleasant ride and we were well recieved by the crowds lining the street. The parade ... ...
On Saturday, May 23, 2009, I and three other Union Reenactors went to the Marion County Historical Society in downtown Fairmont to serve as color guard for a recognition day for Julia Pierpont, wife of Francis H. Pierpont of Fairmont, who was appointed as Governor of the Restored State of Virginia after the secession of ... ...
On Friday, May 22, 2009, I took part in the annual lantern tour organized by Mark Tennant. This tour focuses on the many Union soldiers buried in the Grafton National Cemetary located on the south side of downtown Grafton (not the new cemetary at Pruntytown a few miles away). For this year’s tour, we had ... ...
The following is a report from our correspondents, Bill and Linda Donegan in Southern West Virginia: Report of the 147th Anniversary Battle of Lewisburg Living History and Reenactment May 14-17, 2009, Lewisburg, West Virginia By Bill Donegan This year’s event celebrated Abraham Lincoln’s 200th Birthday. This was my experience at the 2009 event....
This past weekend was National Road Festival weekend for the communities along Rt. 40 in Pennsylvania. I fell in with the local 28th Infantry Co. K for a living history encampment as part of the festival. We set up at the Brownsville Steam and Gas Association’s fairgrounds located 4 miles west of Brownsville, PA. There ... ...
It was wet. That sums up much of the weekend of May 2nd and 3rd. In fact, the weather put quite a damper on what could be a nice little spring event. Friday night’s torrential downpours left the field wet and any areas not covered with grass were all mud. Fortunately, on Saturday, the rain ... ...
Next weekend, May 15-17, 2009, the Reenactment of the Battle of Lewisburg will be held in that picturesque southern West Virginia town. The reenactment will portray the engagement between Union forces commanded by Colonel George Crook and a larger Confederate force under Brigadier General Henry Heth on May 23, 1862. ...
On Sunday, April 19, 2009 Jim Barnes and I visited the graves of two brave soldiers that fought for the Union during the Civil War, Jesse Taylor and John Shanes. When I took the Civil War bus trip last fall (see related story CW Bus Trip in past posts) I had heard the story ... ...
Here is a report I just got from Stacy Roth regarding a possible threat to one of our favorite reenacting venues: Old Bedford Village. It sounds like some overzealous local official saw an opportunity to make a quick buck, even if it runs the Village into the ground. Guess the geniuses in the tax office ... ...
